1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for authenticating and tracking use of computing and communications hardware.
2. Description of Related Art
Manufacturers, sellers, or licensors of computers, computer hardware, or computer-related communications hardware may sometimes desire to restrict or track use of such devices or hardware subsequent to sale or license to another party. For example, a manufacturer or distributor of computer or computer-related equipment may adopt a regional distribution strategy under which similar or identical products are sold in several regions at different prices or at different times determined by the region in which the product is sold. Such regional distribution strategies may create an incentive for downstream distributors in one region to export and resell the product in another region where the product is higher priced or not available. Products that are thusly re-exported are sometimes called “gray market” goods. Gray market goods may be deleterious to the commercial interests of the original source that adopted the regional distribution strategy, particularly when the exports involve altering configuration of gray market hardware to a state that the manufacturer does not support or that is not optimal for other reasons. In such cases, the gray market hardware may experience degradation of performance or even failure when operated in the altered configuration, which the consumer may unfairly attribute to poor quality, design, or support by the manufacturer. For further example, a manufacturer or distributor of computer or computer-related equipment may desire to track configuration changes of hardware after it is sold or distributed for technical support, design cycle planning, marketing, or other purposes.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide systems and methods for authenticating and tracking use of computing and communications hardware for various applications, while enabling efficient identification and tracking of post-manufacture hardware configuration changes.